Having read much about Osama Bin Laden in both Arabic and English, I know there is much mythology about the infamous al-Qaida leader. There is also so much speculation that one must strive to ascertain what is plausible from the truly nonsensical.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Steve Coll, better known in the counter-terrorism community for his excellent volume ‘‘Ghost Wars,” has written a new book on the Bin Laden family. The book opens with tracing the lineage and origins of the Bin Ladens from obscure poverty in Wadi Rakiyah in the harsh Hadramaut mountain range of northern Yemen. The family had to depend on brief seasonal rains to provide flood waters for their fields. If they succeeded they might grow wheat or other staple crops, if they failed, they faced famine. A dispute with the Obeid tribe led Osama Bin Laden’s grandfather Awadh Bin Laden to flee to Wadi Doan.

Several chapters focus on Muhammad Bin Laden, Osama’s father, who as a teen sailed with his brother Abdullah to find work in Africa. The man who eventually built a multi-million dollar construction corporation would in Africa sweep the floors, and through neglect and abuse lose his right eye, leaving him with a permanent glass replacement.

In the late 1920s, the brothers left the Horn of Africa and set out for the sea port town of Jeddah, working as porters and laborers in the late 1920s. The book details Muhammad Bin Laden’s relationship with the al-Saud family. His first construction contract which received the notice of the Saudi royal family was a project to build a ramp, so that the aged King Abdul-Aziz al-Saud could drive his car to his throne room, bypassing stairs and the lower floor. Muhammad Bin Laden would network with other Yemeni families in Saudi Arabia, such as the Ben Mahfouz banking dynasty.

When you read Coll’s book you gain an appreciation for Muhammad Bin Laden’s children and grandchildren, and how they are completely immersed in western culture, piloting planes and negotiating deals. What is intriguing about the book is how it highlights Osama Bin Laden’s hypocrisy, such as when he rails against interest, yet his accounts set up for him by his older brother provides him with a healthy amount of income from interest. Or his attacks on America’s presence in Operation Desert Storm, yet he did not refuse his share of the profits generated by contracts the U.S. military awarded the Bin Laden corporation to provide support to allied forces fighting Saddam’s occupation of Kuwait.

The chapter on young Osama provides an interesting evolution of a mind from religious fundamentalism to politicized violent militancy. Pages discuss influences such as a Syrian gym teacher and member of the Muslim Brotherhood to the fighting cleric Sheikh Abdullah Azzam in his college and Soviet years. Of note, Osama Bin Laden’s older son Abdullah would abandon his father, in favor of a life of luxury and normalcy; in addition at least two wives have left him unable to endure a life on the run. Osama Bin Laden has not only injured his own immediate family, but injured his wider family that has provided him with funds and support over the years.

The al-Qaida leader blames the Saudi royal family for driving a wedge between him and his family, yet he takes no responsibility for the pain and damage he caused to the Bin Laden clan. While in Sudan in 1991 to 1994, the patriarch of the Bin Laden family (Bakr) attempted to get Osama to reconcile with the Saudi regime. Coll claims that aside from the business leader, Abdullah Bin Laden, the 80-year old brother of his father and most senior living relative, attempted to reason with Osama. He refused.

The only criticism of the book is that many pages that could’ve been dedicated to exploring terrorist links are instead devoted to the lavish lifestyle of the Bin Ladens. The former patriarch of the Bin Laden family, Salem Bin Laden has much written about him focusing on his excesses that read like a tabloid magazine. My criticism may be a function of my own biases that focus on terrorism. This would not be the first book I would recommend to understanding al-Qaida and Osama Bin Laden, but more like follow on readings, after reading such works as Michael Scheurer’s ‘‘Through Our Enemies Eyes” (Potomac Books, 2003) and Peter Bergin’s ‘‘The Osama Bin Laden I Know” (Free Press, 2006).

Editor’s Note: Aboul-Enein writes a regular book column for three military newspapers. He wishes to thank Personnel Specialist 1st Class (SW⁄AW) David Tranberg for his edits and discussion of this book that enhanced this review.